The Martins had been taken to the emergency room. Mrs. Martin was only shaken, but Mr. Martin had been roughed up to the point of a sprained arm.

Colter was outraged on their behalf. Mr. Martin knew Morris and at least two of his cohorts, and he could pick them out in a lineup, he assured Colter. They were after Clancey and Tad. Even if he’d known where they were—and he didn’t—he’d never have given them up, he added.

Colter took a steadying breath, one big, lean hand resting idly on the butt of his Colt .45 in its hand-tooled leather holster. “We need to put both of you in a safe house for the time being,” he told the elderly couple. “Morris will know that you’ll likely be willing to testify against him. He’s vindictive.”

“My sister lives in Baton Rouge,” Mr. Martin said. “We could go there for a few days, or a couple of weeks, until you need us to testify.” He hesitated. “But even if he’s arrested for assault, you know, he could get out on bail.”

“That’s unfortunately true,” Colter said solemnly. “Besides that, flying or taking a train or car to Baton Rouge is a bad idea in your physical condition,” he added to Mr. Martin.

The elderly man smiled whimsically. “In my youth, I taught Tae Kwon Do. I was a twelfth-degree black belt, in fact.” He shook his head. “Old age gets more dangerous all the time. But what about Clancey and Tad?” he added worriedly.

“They’re safe. Morris would need a small army just to get to them,” he added with a smile.

“Thank goodness,” Mrs. Martin said. She put a hand on her husband’s shoulder. “Mr. Banks, I hope you can do something about this wild young man. He almost killed Tad, you know. Poor Clancey didn’t fare much better. It’s such a shame about her grandfather. The not knowing, you see.”

“I do see,” Colter replied. “People with missing children go through the same agony.”

“Funny about that antique gun Clancey’s grandfather owned,” Mr. Martin said. “He showed it to me once. It had a long history in his family, passed down from lawman to lawman.” He frowned. “Clancey said it went missing about the same time her grandfather did. Morris wouldn’t have dared sell it, the thing was so rare and valuable. But then, if you can’t find the body, the gun would do you no good, would it?”

Colter sighed. “Not much, no.”

“Pity we don’t have one of those psychics here,” Mrs. Martin said whimsically. She touched her husband’s hair. “When I was sixteen, a fortune-teller told me who I’d marry and when. I just laughed. But everything she told me came true, right down to his initials and the scar on his left knee.”